what Praktica ( IV ) ???

I picked a Praktica for 100kr, took the focusing screen for test on a Canon 5D. A pleasure to open, very straightforward and simple, I took the focusing screen and decided I will keep the camera and shot it, I put in a focusing screen salvaged from an Olympus OM-40.

Anyway this is the Praktica. I looked up on Mike's Praktica Collection and Praktica: 1950-2001 - www.pentax-slr.com, and a bit more of online search but didn't find one with the same brand label name and a piece of leatherette on the forefront of the prism, all images I found are of some older models with a decorative black plastic or otherwise full polished metal.

mine:

it has the old shutter speeds progression by 5 (1/5, 1/10, 1/25,...) top of winding knob with shots count is black, rewind knob is the split variant.

I guess it's just a custom front label on the prism of an intermediate version of the IV series...

Only number on the body:

so what year, what submodell?

> If it doesn't have an instant return mirror, it's a IV. If it does, it's a V.

yes I know, that's why I titled "what Praktica (IV)?" :) ... yes this one doesn't have the instant return mirror. and the speeds are also 2/5/10/15/25/50/100/200/500. What I wonder about is if it's an existing factory variant or a customized box. It's about the cosmetics on the prism.

I have always seen only two variants:

plastic cover:

http://www.praktica-collector.de/images/Cameras/139_Praktica_IV/Praktica_IV_139_front.jpg

metal:

http://www.praktica-collector.de/images/Cameras/141a_Praktica_IV/P_IV_front.jpg

this one has a piece of leatherette and a brand sticker that looks from a PL Nova but with an added strip of leatherette on the lower part (masking the PL Nova marking). I think it's a customization from a former owner. In order to know I guess I'd have to remove that skin, but it sticks strong.

White spirit will probably dissolve the glue.

You might find scratches underneath the leatherette that the perpetrator of the customisation was trying to hide.

I don't see any great mystery here. Just a former owner trying to 'tart up' an old camera.